The Austrian News Watcher

[Josquius]

Wow, Austrian high society sure attracts the world's best and brightest to their events.

[Barrister]

Aren't there any European bimbos he can invite?

[Syt]

Aren't there any European bimbos he can invite?

Not famous ones.

That's him and his current girlfriend, btw.

[Grey Fox]

20 year  olds aren't what they used to be.

[Syt]

In a field in Upper Austria, a hole has been discovered. It's not a flaming gash, but it's about a foot or so wide and 20 feet deep. At the bottom is a hollowed space with something metallic. Investigations are ongoing. Martian Scout?










Also, Austrian news magazin profil has an ad campaign that prominently features former finance minister Grasser (boyfriend of Fiona Swarowski of Swarowski stones fame). Grasser currently faces charges of corruption and embezzlement. (There's also currently a fact-finding committee busy examining corruption charges in various areas against basically all parties.)

The quote made me chuckle when I saw the source for it.

[Martinus]

Guys over 30 who sport that kind of haircut should be executed as a matter of public policy.

[HVC]

Fake. Something going fast enough to go 20 feet deep doesn't leave a perfectly smooth hole.



That or it's an alien double bluff

[Syt]

Fake. Something going fast enough to go 20 feet deep doesn't leave a perfectly smooth hole.

It turns out to have been an old bore hole when they were doing test drillings in the area.




Grisly new from Styria and nominee for unemployed most serious about staying unemployed:

A 56 year olf man cut off his left foot and burned it. The man has been unemployed for several years. He got out of job assignments by claiming bad health. Today he had been ordered by the unemployment agency to visit a public health officer to receive a thorough check up. Rather than receive a clean bill of health, he waited for wife and kids to leave the house, then went into the basement where the house heating was. He had prepared a circular saw and cut off his left foot. To make sure it couldn't be reattached he threw the foot into the furnace. He then called the police who found him with major blood loss, but his life could be saved.



Don't they keep finding left feet on the Vancouver shore? Might be an idea to check up on the umployed there.

[Syt]

Big corruption scandal breaking in Carinthia.

There were big corruption allegations about the bankruptcy of Carinthian state owned bank Hypo Alpe Adria. Most importantly, a consultant is on trial for creating an expertise of 6 A4 pages for which he charged € 6,000,000.-

While in the witness stand he pointed out that the heads of the conservatives (ÖVP) and of Haider's ex-party, rightwing populist FPÖ in Carinthia both asked him for their share of the money as "party donations". The FPÖ head in Carinthia stepped down (replaced by his brother). There's calls for new elections, but for that vote to take effect, at least 2/3 of the parliament have to be present. The ruling FPÖ steps out whenever it's brought up, making the vote impossible.

Meanwhile, two witnesses (experts who said under oath that the 6 million for the expertise were justified) in the trial refused to give testimony, because they're under criminal charges themselves for perjury. Also, the lawyer of the main defendant resigned her job because she's also under corruption charges.



This is a big case, but it's pretty typical for Austria. There's a huge inquiry still going on in Vienna about several corruption cases that involve all the big parties, but it's going nowhere, because none of the people seem to remember anything. On top of that, you have a high level FPÖ politician who refuses to resign after being sentenced by a criminal court after it turned out he used state funds for party publications.



There was a commentary recently that pointed out that the charges that German president Wulff stepped down for would barely make the front pages in Austrian papers. There's a reason they say, "The Balkans begins in Vienna."

[Valdemar]

The Balkans, or Italy, or both?

V

[Syt]

Both.

The motto is, "A bissl was geht immer." I.e. "There's always a possibility (for self enrichment)."

[Duque de Bragança]

This puts Chirac(aille) to shame
And I thought that Vienna was somewhat like Paris pre-boboisation i.e Chirac times.

[Syt]

Last year, George Michael had to cancel his Vienna concert and spent a month with pneumonia in Vienna General Hospital, much of it in intensive care. His new single "White Light" is inspired by his near death experience.

In September he will make good on the concert (tickets from previous concert still valid). Also, he'll give an additional concert, with 1,000 free tickets given to the hospital. The hospital will use 300 tickets for themselves and sell the other 700 for charity.

[garbon]

That's pretty decent and a nice PR move.

[Malthus]

Yeah, a very decent move.